Rome’s best contemporary art galleries

Tucked inside a steel-beamed building in Rome’s historic Trastevere district, this gallery was founded in 2002 by Paola Guadagnino and Marco Altavilla. It champions emerging artists and experimental exhibitions, representing artists such as James Beckett, Claire Fontaine and Henrik Olai Kaarstein – some of whom have gone on to exhibit in prestigious settings including London’s Tate Modern, Venice Biennale and Frieze New York.

Via Ripense 6, 00153 Rome

Once a pasta factory dating back to 1905, this building in Quartiere San Lorenzo lay abandoned for decades before artists transformed its lofts and courtyard into studios in the mid-1980s. In 2005, its fortunes changed once more when Flavio Misciattelli founded the gallery here in a bid to teach and promote young Italian artists. Today, the building is home to fashion ateliers’ studios, a photography school and an academy of fine arts in addition to exhibition spaces. Visit to discover mixed-media works by solo artists and browse group exhibitions.

Via degli Ausoni 7, 00185 Rome

A glass roof and large windows fill this cavernous space near Galleria Borghese with sunlight, casting beams of light onto its Louboutin red gallery and cafe. Once a Peroni brewery designed by architect Gustavo Giovannoni and completed in 1932, the building was renovated in the late 1990s and now features a bookshop, library, auditorium and event and workshop spaces. As well as regular temporary exhibitions, it rotates its permanent collection, which includes Piero Dorazio’s abstract paintings and digital works by Sarah Ciracì, who is inspired by science fiction and dreams.

Via Nizza 138, 00198 Rome

Massimo Scrocca established Varsi in 2013 to promote urban, contemporary art, and to encourage artists to develop and share their research. Since then, it has exhibited work by the street artists Broken Fingaz, Etam Cru, Etnik and Herakut, and American illustrator Jeremy Fish, attracting attention from The New York Times. Like the art it displays, the gallery evolved in 2019 with the creation of Varsi Art & Lab, which specialises in artist residences and experimental works such as limited-edition screen prints.

Via di Affogalasino 34, 00148 Rome

Founder Lorcan O’Neill doesn’t care if an artist is old, young, new to the game or a household name. He just knows quality art when he sees it – perhaps thanks to the years he spent as an art dealer. After working with the painter Cy Twombly in Rome, the Irish Londoner moved to the Italian capital, bringing a contemporary British touch to the Eternal City. He’s since hosted exhibitions by the likes of Tracey Emin, Giorgio Griffa, Eddie Peake, young Italian artists, and more.

Vicolo dei Catinari 3, 00186 Rome